New Paltz, NY --- The State University of New York at New Paltz swimming team announced its incoming class for the 2021-2022 season Wednesday.

The Hawks brought in 11 swimmers last season who are still eager to get their first chance to swim for the orange and blue, and combined with this year's incoming recruits, first-year coach Matt Distler will feature 29 new faces combined to his club, including 10 incoming freshmen on the men's side and eight on the women's.

"We are thrilled to welcome the class of 2025 to the Hawk Family," Distler said. "We look forward to having a huge, talented, and almost entirely new team on deck this fall. This group of student athletes bring a vast mix of experiences and share a high level of dedication to the sport and to their studies. I am particularly excited to see how our newcomers mesh with, and add to the rich culture of swimming here at New Paltz."

To read more about each incoming Hawk, see below:
 

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Korey Barber '25 (butterfly/backstroke)
Shelton High School
Shelton, CT

Barber, a Shelton, CT native, is a 2021 graduate of Shelton High School, who finished his high school career with much acclaim. The incoming freshman, who competed in the butterfly and backstroke in the Southern Connecticut Conference, was a four-year swimmer at Shelton, earning the title of team captain and being named All-Conference.

He was a member of his school's 200-yard freestyle relay team that set a Division I record and was a four-time participant in the Connecticut State Championship meet. At the SCC Championships, he was a bronze medalist in both the 100-yard butterfly and 400-yard freestyle relay.

Outside of the pool, he was an All-Connecticut Scholar Athlete, and will join his brother Kyle, sister Katie and parents Kevin and Dawn who also swam collegiately at Mount Saint Mary's College and Southern Connecticut State University, respectively.

Barber intends to major in Electrical Engineering while at SUNY New Paltz.


Euan Barclay '25 (distance/freestyle)
Groton High School
Groton, NY

Barclay is a Groton High School graduate from Groton, NY. In addition to competing at Groton High in freestyle and distance events for five seasons, Barclay was also a member of the Cortland YMCA Swim Club, where he competed in the backstroke and breaststroke in addition to freestyle.

Barclay intends to major in Earth Science while at SUNY New Paltz.





Nick Brown '25 (butterfly/backstroke)
Queensbury High School
Queensbury, NY  

A Queensbury, NY native, Brown was also a member of Adirondack Swimming in addition to competing for Queensbury High School in both the butterfly and breaststroke. As a Spartan, he was a four-year varsity swimmer, and racked up numerous accolades.

In 2021, he was named to the Foothills Council Second Team in the 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard medley relay and the 200-yard freestyle relay. In 2020, he was named to the Foothills Council First Team in the 200-medley relay and 200 freestyle relay, as well as garnering Honorable Mention recognition in the 100 butterfly and backstroke.

In 2020 he became the Section II Division II medley relay champion, a silver medalist in the 200-freestyle relay, and a bronze medalist in the 100-backstroke. He was also good enough to qualify for the 200 individual medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, and the 200-medley relay for the 2020 New York State Federation and NYSPHSAA State Championship meets.

In 2019, he was named Second Team Foothills Council in the 200 freestyle and 200 freestyle relay. Additionally, Brown became a YMCA State Champion in 2016.

Brown joins his older brother, Zach, on the Hawks men's swimming team in 2021. Brown intends to major in Sociology while at SUNY New Paltz. 
 

Xavier Calderon '25 (breaststroke)
Francis Lewis High School
Bayside, NY

From Bayside, NY, the Francis Lewis High School graduate and competitor in the breaststroke was his school's team co-captain, while also competing for the Queens Aquatic Club.

In Queens, he ranked No. 1 in 100-meter breaststroke and fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke and will be competing in July in the MR LC Senior Championship, MR LC Junior Olympic Championship, and the 2021 EZ LC Senior Championship.

Calderon will major in Computer Engineering while at SUNY New Paltz.


Paul Castner '25 (backstroke/freestyle)
Binghamton High School
Binghamton, NY

Competing in the breaststroke and freestyle, Castner qualified for the Section IV Class A Championship meet for three straight seasons. He placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2021 Section IV Class A Championships with a time of 1 minute, 58.9 seconds, seventh in the 100-yard backstroke (1:01.13) and at the 2020 Section IV Class A Championships helped his team finish third in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a split time of 53.58. Additionally, he swam a time of 1:00.33 at the same meet in the preliminaries of the 100-yard backstroke.

Castner plans to major in Visual Art while at SUNY New Paltz.
 

Samuel Debbie '25 (breaststroke)
Lansing High School
Ithaca, NY

From Ithaca, NY, Debbie swam the breaststroke at Lansing High School. He was a member of the school's varsity swim team for four years and was a 2021 bronze medalist at the 2021 Section IV Class C Championship meet in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley. In 2020, he was a silver medalist at the IAC Championships in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard medley relay. At the 2020 Section IV Class C Championship meet, he won silver in the 200-individual medley and 200-medley relay.

Debbie plans to major in History while at SUNY New Paltz.
 

Venn Engstrom '25 (sprint/freestyle)
Albany High School
Albany, NY

Venn attended Albany High School in his hometown of Albany, NY and competed in sprint and freestyle events for both Albany High and the Schenectady-Saratoga Swim Club and Adirondack Swimming.
Engstrom was a four-year member of the Albany High varsity swim team, winning team Most Valuable Player and being named an NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete. Engstrom finished with a bronze medal in the 50-yard
freestyle at the 2020 Section II, Division I Championship. 

Engstrom plans to study engineering while at SUNY New Paltz.
 

Ginny Frazee (IM/freestyle)
Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School
Demar, NY

Frazee was a four-year swimmer at R-C-S High and a member of the Albany Starfish Swim Club. Competing in individual medley and freestyle events, she qualified for four consecutive Colonial Council Championships. In 2019, Frazee swam in three events in the 2019 Section II, Division II Championship.
 






Kaylee Gallagher (freestyle)
Smithtown High School East
Smithtown, NY

Gallagher competed for the combined Smithtown-Hauppauge High School team for six seasons, swimming freestyle events. She was named team captain for the Bulls where she was a member of the 2020 League I Champions and a Section XI runner-up.

She earned both the National School Leadership Council for Academic Growth and Student Leadership in Learning award and the Girl Scout Award. She was a member of the National Honor Society, Social Studies Honor Society and French National Honor Society, and was given the Office of the New York State Comptroller Achievement Award in 2021.

Gallagher will become the second person in her immediate family to swim collegiately, as her sister Elizabeth competes for the Swarthmore College swimming team. 

Gallagher plans to major in Secondary Education-Biology.


Luke Hoyt '25 (breaststroke/IM)
Chenango Valley Central High School
Binghamton, NY

Hoyt was a four-year varsity swimmer at Chenango Valley Central High School in his hometown of Binghamton, NY and was also a member of the Chenango Valley Swim Club. This past 2021 season, Hoyt was a gold medalist in the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay at the Section IV Class B Championships. He also finished with a silver medal in the 200-yard individual medley and was a bronze medalist in the 100-yard breaststroke.

In 2020, he was a gold medalist at the Section IV Class B Championship in the 200-individual medley, 200 medley relay, 100-breaststroke, as well as in the 200-freestyle relay, where Chenango Valley set a new sectional record. He was a part of the Chenango Valley 200 medley team that finished in the top 10 at the 2020 New York State Federation championship and took home a bronze medal in the event at the NYSPHSAA Championship. His efforts also rewarded him with a silver medal in the 200-individual medley, and a bronze medal in the 100-breaststroke.

Additionally, Hoyt was a four-time qualifier for the Section IV, Class B Championship meet, and won sliver in the 200-freestyle and bronze medals in both the 200 individual medley and 200-breaststroke at the Section IV Class B Championship.

Along with starring on the Hawks men's swimming team this season, Hoyt will compete for the Hawks men's cross-country team in the fall as well. Hoyt intends on majoring in Biology while at SUNY New Paltz.
 

Chloe Jeffares (freestyle)
Sayville High School
Sayville, NY 

Swimming for the combined Sayville-Bayport Blue Point High School team as well as the Connetquot Swim Club, Jeffares competed in freestyle. She was a member of the League III Championship teams in both 2019 and in her senior year of 2021 and qualified for the 2021 Section XI Finals in the 100-yard freestyle. She earned All-League honors in 2021.

Jeffares intends to major in Communication Disorders while at SUNY New Paltz.
 


Alex Kassian (backstroke/IM)  
Rondout Valley High School
Kerhonkson, NY

In addition to being a member of the Rondout Valley High swim team, Kassian also swam for the Hawks Swimming Association.
A four-year swimmer on the Rondout Valley varsity team, she was the OCIAA Division II Champion and Section IX medalist in the 100-yard breaststroke, and an NYSPHSAA qualifier in both the 100 breaststroke and 100-yard backstroke in 2019. She was also a Section IX medalist in the 100-breaststroke in 2018.
Additionally, Kassian was awarded Rookie of the Year in 2017 while at Rondout Valley High and was three-time OCCIAs and Section 9 High qualifier and placer from 2017-2019. In 2019 she became a New York State qualifier as well.

Kassian intends to major in Business while at SUNY New Paltz.
 

Abigail Keiser (butterfly/IM/freestyle)
Curtis High School
Staten Island, NY 

Keiser was a member of both the Warriors swim team and the Trident Aquatic Club at JCC, competing in butterfly and individual medley events. In 2018, she competed in the MR HDRO Winter SCY Invitational in the 200 and 50-yard freestyles in addition to the 100-yard butterfly.
 







Naomi Levey (distance/IM/freestyle)
Poly Prep Country Day School
Manhattan, NY

A member of the New York Aquatics Club in addition to her high school team at Poly Prep, Levey was a four-year varsity swimmer in distance and freestyle events. In 2020, she was a medalist at the 2020 Ivy Prep Championships in the 500-yard freestyle and qualified for the 2020 Eastern Interscholastic Championship in both the 200-yard individual medley and the 500 freestyle.
 





Steven Macaluso '25 (butterfly/freestyle)
Lakeland High School
Jefferson Valley, NY

Macaluso, from Jefferson Valley, NY, attended Lakeland High School and swam for the combined Lakeland/Walter Panas/Putnam Valley varsity swim team. He also competed for Rivertown Aquatics, swimming in butterfly and freestyle events.

A four-year varsity swimmer, he was also a four-year qualifier at the Section I Championship meet. In 2021, Macaluso was a part of the gold medal winning team in the 200-freestyle relay at the Section I Championship. He was named to the 2021 LoHud Journal News First-Team in the 200-freestyle relay and garnered honorable mention honors in the 100-meter butterfly.  

In 2019 and 2020, Macaluso won a silver medal as part of the 200-freestyle relay and 200-medley relay teams at the Conference II Championships.

Macaluso attends on majoring in Computer Science while at SUNY New Paltz.


Brandon Molina '25 (distance/freestyle)
Brooklyn, NY

Molina, originally from Ecuador before moving to Brooklyn, NY where he competed for Queens Aquatic Club, swims freestyle and distance events. Most of Molina's experience comes from swimming in international open water competitions throughout his career, but Distler and the Hawks are looking forward to seeing him flourish in the pool for the program.
Molina plans to major in Biology while at SUNY New Paltz.








Candela Sandoval (IM/freestyle/backstroke)
The Mary Louis Academy
Oakland Gardens, NY

Sandoval was a four-year varsity swimmer for The Mary Louis Academy swim team and also competed for the Queens Aquatic Club.
In 2019, she finished 10th in the 100-yard backstroke at the NSCHSGAA (Nassau Suffolk County High School Girls Athletic Association) Championships and helped the Penguins set a school record for most points scored over the course of the two-day event.

Sandoval intends to major in Psychology while at SUNY New Paltz.




Angelina Somma (butterfly)
Valley Stream North High School
Malverne, NY

Somma swam in the butterfly for Valley Stream North High School and the Long Island Aquatic Club. In 2021, she ranked in the top-100 (81st) in the New York Metropolitan area in the 100-yard freestyle. She also earned an invite to the 2021 MR LC Junior Olympic Championship in July.
 






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